CMR72-238 Blackburn/Hawker Siddeley

Buccaneer S.2/2C/2D

‘In Fleet Air Arm Service’

A development of the underpowered Buccaneer S.1, the S Mk.2 was a mid-wing low-level subsonic strike aircraft with a crew of two in a tandem seat arrangement. It was powered by two Rolls-Royce Spey Mk.101 turbofans, providing more thrust and reducing fuel consumption.

The S.2 production was started early in 1962 (10 were built by Blackburn Aircraft Ltd. and 74 by Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd.) and the type entered operational service with the Royal Navy in 1965. Eventually equipping a total of six FAA squadrons, the Buccaneers embarked in HMS Victorious, Eagle, Ark Royal and Hermes aircraft carriers, and were also based at main Royal Naval Air Stations.

Various bombloads could be carried in the rotating fuselage bomb bay, including the nuclear missile, and under the four wing hard points. Instead of the offensive armament a ferry tank, a photo-reconnaissance “crate” or a cargo container could also be carried. In service, some Buccaneers were modified to carry the Martel anti-ship missile from 1975, thus becoming the S.2D, while the remaining aircraft were renamed the S.2C.

During its service, the Buccaneer was the backbone of the Royal Navy maritime and ground strike operations, finally retiring from Fleet Air Arm service with the decommissioning of the Ark Royal in 1978.

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